Some may consider it a storm in a tea cup after Yorkshire Tea issued a plea to people to “try to be kind” after it received a deluge of online abuse because the chancellor was photographed with a large packet of its teabags.
The brand had faced a weekend of calls to boycott it after Rishi Sunak, the Conservative MP for the North Yorkshire seat of Richmond, shared the image with the caption: “Quick Budget prep break making tea for the team. Nothing like a good Yorkshire brew.”
In an attempt to stem the online attacks it stated “please remember there’s a human on the other end of it, and try to be kind.”
And that’s the big problem. It’s not new. Certain cultures find it more gratifying and fun to be critical than award people with praise, and social media has made it all the more easier.
There is no need to “face-off” with someone a person may have an issue or bone to pick. Yes, the chances of getting a smack in the chops for being offensive has been greatly reduced but, as we are seeing time and time again, the mental damage social media can cause is proving, sadly fatal.
Depression, mental health, PTSD, have been around for decades and never really understood, they are some of the biggest killers on earth claiming more lives than cancer today and just as society starts to get a grip with the issue, people (cowards) turn to social media. It’s time for serious action.